


10 to 16 AU

by FawnTheCurious



Series: 10 to 16 AU [1]
Category: Ben 10 Series
Genre: 10 to 16, AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Anodite, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Gen, Gwen 10, M/M, Multi, Other, anodite!Ben
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2019-10-24 10:34:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17702726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FawnTheCurious/pseuds/FawnTheCurious
Summary: Migrating from TUmblr under somebody's permission here's this AUBenjamin Kirby Tennyson has done many things. He becomes the bearer of the omnitrix, he saved the world multiple times even if some do not count, he dates multiple girls he failed to keep up with-or be an absolute idiot, he travelled back in time and forward and much more.But sometimes being somebody who is open to such things, somebody who grew to be a hero icon, grew up learning things somebody his age has yet to learn.Being somebody so admired yet hated. Would be his downfall.And that’s why, he gave it all up and changed everything as the world knew it to be.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There's a little more information about this AU on my one of my many side blogs. This one is where I started to make sketches and stuff but my official Art Blog is out there too. Ya'll might just need to find it on yer own but her's a link to one of em' containing the AU information
> 
> https://raythy.tumblr.com/post/175075303373/heres-an-au-idea-what-if-16-year-old-ben

Sandra Tennyson noticed something about her son. Ever since this morning she noticed that her son was more calmer, his aura in general seemed more…mature for somebody his age. He even woke up early and made himself toast and eggs despite not learning how to cook yet. When asked this, Ben just casually admitted that he just made it out of habit.

Sandra doesn’t recall her son ever cooking before now. It was strange but she quickly accepted it, maybe he cooked while they were away? But then again, nothing seems to be even used whenever they came back home.

She also noticed that before he went to school, he was just simply staring at his backpack with a very wistful expression on his face. Something she ever thought she will ever see on her son show until he was older.

Before she could say anything about it, he as if he could sense her quickly grabbed his bag, said goodbye and left rather quickly. It was almost as if he wanted to avoid something. 

In the end, she never got to ask him about his behavior and the worrying feeling her gut still resides. Did something happen to her son over night?

Probably because when she looked into his room to investigate, it was  _clean_.

**_TOO CLEAN WHAT HAPPENED-_ **

**I know it's short but bare with me there's more next chapter**


	2. Chapter 2

School ended and Ben left. Of course, if this point in time was correct then the two bullies would be hanging a student up in a tree right now.

And as he would have guessed, they did.

But he didn't react immediately this time. He intended to change the course of this timeline, for it to be different to the one before now.

The young boy waited for the bullies to leave and made sure that they weren't in sight. When he can confirm that he was in the safe he immediately ran towards the boy hung up the tree by his shirt.

"You okay there?" Ben asked, the boy who was obviously not fine

"Do I look fine, Tennyson?" He responded back, a little rude and sarcastic.

"Give me a second, I'll get you down" He said immediately going up to literally climb up tree. This shocked the boy as Ben seemed to climb up to him extremely fast and with so much ease it was almost inhuman. 

Ben didn't waste anytime getting the boy's shirt unstuck from the branch and making sure to drop him without hurting him. After the boy got down safely Ben jumped down, landing right beside him.

He looked at the boy only to be greeted by a surprised expression. Ben tilted his head "What?"

Before the boy could answer there was honking.

They both turned to see an old man in a beat up looking RV gesturing Ben to come over. Ben knew this was his cue to leave "Welp, I gotta go. See ya!" 

He just ran towards the RV and got in before the other could respond. 


	3. Chapter 3

Something was off with her cousin. Gwen thought as she tapped away on her laptop while absentmindedly listening to her grandfather about bonding and having 'fun'. 

Gwen of course wasn't interested in what he had in store, a little terrified as well since he seems to have the intentions of feeding them something that she was pretty sure was not edible to humans at all. She turned to look at her cousin who she now found to be acting strange ever since he got into the RV. Not just he didn't complained that she was coming along for the trip but he seems to be more polite. Which also creeped her out since she knew from previous experience that she didn't get along with Ben all so well and for him to be acting the way he is right now already gave her red flags.

He was playing on his game console but with a different look then what she was used to see him doing. Instead of intense concentration to win a video game that may not be beneficial to his life it was replaced with something more of a nostalgic look in his eyes as he seems to fondly stare at the game. Playing it but not really breaking a sweat, he wasn't dramatic in his movements as one should have if he was truly concentrated on the game. The air around him was different and it put her off a bit. 

To her surprise, Ben actually put his game back into his pocket and turned to grandpa. Not with an annoyed look which she had and still expecting from him from the beginning of the trip but with a smile that spoke out something that even her grandfather could easily read.

"Hey, grandpa. I'm going out for a walk" He actually said. He actually told grandpa something before he acts? What a shock.

"Uh, Alright then" Max replied suddenly feeling about his grandson walking off. He usually doesn't worry like this.

Ben then turned to Gwen "You wanna come?" He asked his cousin, which once again, made a red flag pop up in her head. Does he have a fever or did he actually ask Gwen to come with him for a walk?

Gwen turned to fully face him with a frown "Why should I?"

"I just thought you might want to actually look around the forest unless you're too chicken to face the potential monsters in the woods?" He said mischievously with a shit eating grin. 

Remember the red flags from before? Well forget them all because those flags are brunt down by the aggravating stubborn fire that was dwelling in the being known as Gwen. Her reasoning of her cousin being different from before are all now in ashes on the ground as she faces the more familiar Ben before her "You wanna bet?"

"Sounds like an easy win" He provoked that grin still plastered on his face as he proceeds to act like a chicken clearly depicting Gwen. The unrelenting stubbornness won over all of her suspicions as she closed her laptop almost harshly and went to put the device inside the RV before going back with her arms crossed to give her cousin a nasty look.

"First one who actually screams will do whatever the other says for the whole week"

"Deal"

Gwen was determined to win.

Grandpa is just plain worried for his grandkids.  

And Ben grin knowing that baiting his cousin into the forest was very easy at this day and age.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's chapter was really rushed so it's painfully horrid. Forgive me for the nonsense I just wrote U-U

It was interesting to say the least. Having to know your grandchildren stumbled upon a crash site where his granddaughter got her hands on a shapeshifting watch that turns her into any type of alien she chooses to be isn't something he was particularly prepared for at all.

Especially the whole droid destroying the camp site as well and having to see your granddaughter fight it too. 

It wasn't until everything went down was when he finally asked them about what happened and how did they even know how to use the thing in the first place.

Turns out Ben was the one who helped Gwen how to use the watch in the first place. Calling it, the 'omnitrix'. This made Max suspicious about his grandson, now realizing that he seems to have known more then he had let out. 

When he asked Ben about this, he was surprise to see that his grandson had emitted this has happened once before which his cousin had called him out for being crazy for. Ben of course argued with her about it but not as heated as Max would have imagined.

When Ben mentioned that he knew Max was not an 'ordinary' plumber. Then he's probably not as crazy as Gwen claimed him to be at all but as to how Ben knew all of this in the first and be calm while he was supposedly being interrogated. It was then he realized that he was acting a lot more different then he thought. 

"So you're saying that you've lived through all of this before?" Max asked his grandson, trying to sum up everything he was saying.

"A whole six years" 

"You mean you were sixteen before you went back in time?" Gwen asked next, her arms crossed as she continue to stare down her cousin.

Ben nodded "Yep, you even have a boyfriend in that future. Not sure if you'll have the same one in this timeline but you guys had quite a good relationship" He said knowing this might as well interest Gwen into believing him more.

Gwen's eyebrows rose "Really, now? Is he handsome?"

"Judging a book by their cover before even meeting them. How low of you Gwen" Ben teased waving a finger at her direction with a smile.

This made Gwen falter a bit at his response before giving him a look "Hey! I just wanted to know, not that I'll leave him if I ever know if he's not handsome..." 

"Yeah, sure" Ben replied doubtfully

Before Gwen could retort Max asked him another question "So wait, if you came from the future.  Did you know that all of this was gonna happen? The drone? This..omnitrix?"

Ben stayed silent for a small moment before sighing and dropping the teasing act "Yeah. But of course, compared to my original timeline, Gwen wasn't the one who wielded the omnitrix"

"What? Really? Then who did?"

"Me, duh. I used to wield it" He said, pointing towards himself, that feeling of pride swelling up inside of him a little from when he used to wear it. 

"You can't be serious. You? With this? What kind of chaos future were we living in?!" Gwen responded harshly, only imagining the worst that could have happened to the world when Ben had it.

This made Ben frown and his pride faltered. He remember that he only did his best even through some exceptions but he didn't blame her for thinking so. His old 10-year-old self was really childish and probably used the omnitrix for silly things like turning into a galvanic mechamorph just so he could get inside an ice cream truck or when he was messing around with it when he gained access to the master controls.

Apparently, he suddenly went silent for too long because he suddenly saw finger snapping in his face and he suddenly came back to reality.

"Ben you alright?" Max asked, looking concerned. How long was he spacing out for?

"Ah, I'm fine, sorry about that" He assured his grandfather. 

"Are you sure? You've been spacing out for a while after Gwen said the future you live in is in chaos"

"I'm fine, I was just thinking about that future. I mean, it's not bad aliens and humans are slowly able to live together without having to hide from each other" Ben said, as he starts remember his time in his original future. The smoothies, the many worlds and planets he gotten to explore, his partner 

"Now that I think about it...I wonder if I ever see Rook again?" He asked, mostly to himself . Now that he had chosen to rewind time and change everything. Will that also effect who will they meet? Will they even encounter Kevin? Will he ever meet Rook?

He suddenly felt worried and sad, he leaned forward and placed his chin onto the table. What will actually happen? Now that Gwen had the omnitrix, will he idolize her more? Will he even see him worthy to spend time with? Would he still see him as the same Ben?

"Ben? Ben are you okey?" Max asked again shaking his grandson slightly.

Ben looked up and smiled at him, this made both Max and Gwen feel uneasy, was something wrong with him? 

"Sorry, Grandpa. I don't feel so good at the moment. I think I'll go take a nap now" He said standing up and quickly making his way to the back and got into the top bunk.

He laid down on his side and began to ignore everything around him. He didn't hear anything, he wasn't focused on anything so he closed his eyes and tried to focus on his thoughts. Unfortunately, he boarded the train of thought at a wrong time, as it chugs through the memory of what happened before he decided to rewind time. 

So he forced himself to sleep instead, trying to shut out those memories, but their still there. He shouldn't think about it. He really shouldn't. Forget it.

Due to his sudden actions he didn't realize that Gwen and grandpa Max was staring at his back, worried and concerned. What happened? It didn't make sense. Maybe it wasn't a good time to ask Ben these things just yet then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, I don't like this chapter hhhh


	5. Chapter 5

** Season 1 Episode 7 **

** KEVIN 11 **

 

It has been a couple of weeks since the omnitrix incident and it has been quite an adventure, more lively then what a normal person would usually expect. A crazy scientist, saving kraken eggs, which for some reason, Ben himself was more successful in saving their eggs then Gwen did even though she had the omnitrix, saving the elderly people early and fast since Ben remembers how that had gone and not to mention being hunted by vilgax's bounty hunter before going on a tour at a tourist attraction.

Of course throughout the whole chaos of everything, both Gwen and Max did try to pry more information from Ben about the future he came from but whenever they did, he would either briefly tell them, be cryptic as all hell, ignore it or the worst yet snap at them and spend the rest of the day completely silent. Now Gwen and Max are not used to this Ben. The Ben they knew before was more childish and not to mention more honest.

But due to the fact that this Ben was more mature and since he just technically came from the future, different. They decided if they wanted Ben to actually start trusting them and being open with them again, they may as well drop the subject of the his future since he had claimed that his goal right now is to change the future to become one that was better then the last. Whatever happened to the future he came from was probably wasn't good and impactful enough to make Ben the way he is right now at least temporarily as they hoped.  

 

They had been travelling for awhile but they have finally arrived in New York City, Ben remembers this, he caused a lot of trouble here, this is where he first met Kevin too. He wonders if they have the chance to meet with him? Especially since Ben wanted to change the events around here rather drastically. While Gwen went on about what the hotel has and grandpa Max booking them a room to stay for the night, the boy looked to the side and saw the 'new' sumo slammer game.

He had gotten Gwen and Max kicked out because of his greed before, this time however, he decided that the comfortability of an actual bed is more important then a video game. He already played it anyways "Hey, Ben!"

Ben looked over to his cousin who was already heading towards the elevator with their grandfather. Realizing that he may miss it if he didn't hurry. Unfortunate for him, he didn't make it in time and the door already closed on him. Great. He'd go for the second elevator but he didn't know which floor to take much less which room since last time they didn't get in.

What was he supposed to do now? He definitely didn't want to just wait and stand around...In his original timeline he got them kicked out, he and Gwen ended up in an arcade didn't they? This got Ben thinking, maybe this was a sign that he needed to go to the arcade.

Looking at the other lift, it opened only to reveal other people coming out, his grandfather nowhere in sight. Ben looked back towards the entrance, he shouldn't take too long right? It's only till he gets to see if he actually meets Kevin. 

He walked out of the hotel and looked around the streets. They don't seemed to be too busy and if he can recall where the arcade was it was to his right. He began making a beeline towards the arcade, the first time he got there was just because him and his cousin were wondering around. He should know where it is.

Before he knew it, Ben was in the arcade, he was immediately showered in all of it's retro glory. God it's just nostalgic to be there again. He walked into the arcade, looking around the place in slight awe. He stopped when he saw a familiar game, he decided to play it, looks like it didn't change in this timeline since of course it gave him an immediate game over. He frown "I see it's still rigged"

"Still? I'm sure I've never seen you around here before much" Another voice rang  out, Ben turned around to face non other then Kevin Eleven himself.

The only thing that came into ben's mind?

What's going to be different this time? And can he stop him from this path he has taken and lead him down a newer safer road?


	6. Chapter 6

Ben stared at him for a little bit before looking back on the console "Well, I've played here before" He said, not really lying because through his own mind he did came back here many times before. He turned back to the other boy "I guess we just haven't met"

"Guess so, need any help? That thing practically ate your tokens" He said, getting ready to use his powers against one of the consoles.

Before Ben could tell him no, there was yelling at the entrance. Both boys turned around to see a orange haired girl wearing a blue shirt with a car logo on it- oh wait that his cousin. Oh shoot that his cousin, how did she know he was here?

"Ben! There you are! WHy tHe heck didn't you go up to our room?" Gwen said walking up to Ben and shoving Kevin aside. It was obvious that she was not just annoyed but worried that Ben wasn't still in the lobby, he can only assume that Max and Gwen took a while before deciding to find him

"I didn't know which floor to go to, much less which room we would be in" Ben said which only made Gwen confused at her cousin

"What do you mean? I thought you lived through all of this before?" She retorted 

"I did, but in my original timeline I got us all kicked out" He told her, crossing his arms in slight annoyance, staring down at his cousin.

"What? Wat did you do to make that happen?"

"Well-" Before Ben could finish his sentence he and Gwen were rudely shoved aside by some passing teenagers. In a normal situation he would have told them to watch where they were going due to his current agitated state but in this situation he realized that these teens where the same ones that harassed Kevin in his original timeline and knowing Kevin he probably was already planning an escape.

Or maybe he was remembering the older version of him and forgot that 11-year-old Kevin was more of a sociopath trying to kill everybody and cause trouble purely because he was the bad guy with a misunderstood bad boy vibe.

Yeah, he probably messed that one up. 

Just when both Gwen and Ben turned around to look at the situation just in time to see Kevin being cornered by those teenagers.

Although he didn't have the time to electrocute the machine for it's tokens, looks like he stayed long enough to watch Ben and Gwen argue before his eye caught sight of one of the teenagers and didn't have enough time to run away. 

Ben didn't think twice to try and jump into action to help Kevin "Hey, do you need any help there, Kevin?" Ah, shoot he said his name. They haven't introduced yet.

The teenagers looked at Ben, directing their hostility to him instead "Aw, you actually got yourself a friend freak?" One of them said to Kevin

 "Well pipsqueak, it's gonna take a lot more then you to help your friend there"  He said pushing Ben to the ground next to Gwen. Who, mind you was still angry at Ben but seeing the situation something clicked in her mind. 

"Hey, nobody pushes my cousin but me!" She argued with the teen who only turned around and ignored her to go back to supposedly deal with Kevin. 

Gwen looked angry for a moment before looking down on her omnitrix. She had an idea and ran towards a different area of the arcade. Ben suddenly had a bad feeling about this and decided to follow her instead "Gwen what are you doing?"

Gwen turned to look at her cousin as she was finding the right alien to transform into "I'm, one going to teach him a lesson and two, might as well help that friend of yours"

That confused Ben a bit "Okey, reason one, I don't approve, reason two, more reasonable but I don't think now is a great time to use the omnitrix"

"If I have the power to help somebody, I might as well use it" She said turning into a kineceleran and speeding off.

That scared him a bit, not just that his cousin was acting a bit more like him before the time travelling incident but it's the fact that a lot of the events before are still taking effect even if Gwen has the omnitrix.

He had tested this a lot of times, rather or not some of the events will take place or not. Every time, it's the same result. Gwen still ended up being kidnapped by Zombozo, Ben was the one who saved the egg and convinced the kraken not to kill the guy who was trying to steal her eggs.

And now even though he came here on his own, not with Gwen in the original but she still ended up in the arcade and rather or not she knows it, a kineceleran was the alien she took form to take care of those bullies messing from Kevin.

There are some things he just can't change and that fact is making him fear rather or not he can change Kevin's path. He may not be able to change it and Gwen will be the one who has to deal with his hate and danger.

 

 

(A moment of unprofessionalism Personally as much as I love to draw this AU I found out trying to write three different fanfictions at the same time isn't the best decision in my life. I've been rushing these chapters so I'm just gonna take a break. My hands hurts QwQ. I'm gonna skip this a bit, focus on the magical episodes and go straight to omniverse. I'm sorry for the lack of benrook content)

 

 

It was going well at first, he didn't expect Gwen and Kevin to bond over the omnitrix and his powers. There was obviously some subtle hints of attraction mostly from Kevin since Gwen was more into his powers then she is attracted. Ben didn't actually mind that at first, considering that this boy ended up dating her in the future but he started getting concerned when he started to try and coax her into helping him. 

He didn't expect her to start to believe him. That was stupid it shouldn't happen. She was smarter then that and he knows it. It must have been the  It took him actually dragging his cousin away from Kevin to break them both from their conversation. That's when he regretted the decision since he grabbed her by the omnitrix and absorbed her omnitrix.

The next thing he knew, their was yelling, there was punches thrown, and he was hit on the head.

When he came through he found that he has been out for almost two days and the whole Kevin incident has been taken care off without him. Whatever happened he shouldn't question since just looking at his cousin's face when he asked says it all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gone bai I promise to come back soon-


	7. Chapter 7

S̵̛̛͚̩͚͑̌̾̑̿̿̃̉̎̿̈́̐͆̓̀̓̇̐͗̿̕̚͝͝͠͝e̷̛̜̦̣̊͗̀̂̈̍͗̅͛͆̂̄̆̊͛͊̓͌͛͐̄̚̚͘͘̕ͅą̴̡͉̖͚̼͕͎̫̼̟͔̮͖̮̥̙̦͔͍̤͇͎̯̰̝̱̝͓̉̓̑͆̚͘͜s̶̛̩̊͌̑o̸͍͇̤̼̩̼̦̻͚̥͙̥̓͋̅̋̒͆̌̅̈̇͂̌̿̒͒͂̋͛̀̑̐͠ñ̸͇͇́̒̽͆͊̈͐͌͌͐̓̋̑͐͋͛́͊̍̏̓͘ ̷̧̧̤͈̖̞͈̮͓͔̯͉̙̯͍̗̳̜͆̈̀͂̒̅́̎̉̈́̽͜͠ͅ1̵̢̢̳͖̰͉̩̞̻̣͓̞͚̣̉͌̑͌̈́̐̈̑̆̇͐̽͌̒͋̑̈́̋̒̃̓͊̿̚̕͝͝ͅ ̸͈̫̯̠̝̩̺͇̫̻̘̣͂̃̑͆̄̊͋̿̊̓͌̏̉́̃͗̓̋̾̽̅̋͌̕̚̚͝͠ͅE̸̡̛̗̰͍̬̩͇̺̤̺͎̬͉͖͚̪̞͖̦̥̫̩͇̬̮̮͛̊̏̑͛͆͑̃̈́̇̚͜͜͝͠͝p̶̧̪̹̖͙͛̈̇͆̈́̃͑̑̈́͒̽͋̅́̊͊͘̕͝͝i̵̢͔̺̩͕̺̮̱͓̭̱̓̓̈́̅̐̾̓s̷̢̪̳͖̭̫͖̻͉̤͕̳̘͕͓̙͋̈̔̓͌̓̌́̐̿͒͌͋͒̓̐͐̇̈͋͛̆̿̄̑̐͜ơ̷͓̈́̓̇͆͌̎͒̈́̆̍̅̅̎̿́̒͌̾͗̌̅̎͂̕͘͝͝͠d̴̨̪̟͔͓̙͍͕͕̜̗̳͎̩̳͕̫̰͎͑ͅe̸̡̨͔͓͉̮̳̩͖̼̰̩͖̤͕͚͖̱̦̥̝̠͌̂͆͑̌̄̿͗͊̃̔̋̏̍̊͑̇̿̈́̎̚ ̵̛̯̰͓͙̂͛̿̀̀̓͛̾̐̿͋̿̀̃͘͜͝1̵̡͙̦͙̼͍̻̲̜̪̂̇̍͂0̴̧̻̻͎̗͍̩̳͓͙̫̗̖̤̰͖̜̮͓͕̤̩̰̀̓̃͋͂͊͂̇̐̆̐̌͝͝ ̶̳͈͙̂͒̍̂̎̇̄̃̈́̄ͅ

Ḷ̶̢̡̢̠̘̳̞͓̰͚̬̗̬̬͓̜̲̯̗͇̝͈̣̬̱͚̼̎͗͊̾̽̽̈́̔̉͒̑̋̊̌̾͛͒͊̐͌̍̍̕̕̕͠ͅṳ̶̧̧̩̺̦͍̮̳̗̩̲͓̱̜̞̓̾̿̑̀̏̓̓̏͂͊͋͒̃̈́͛̏͘̚͝c̸̢̧̧͙̹̫͉͈̻̩̰̼͖͔̘̲̯̩̰̭̯̹̝̤͎̘̞̰͙̹̏̉̏̈͒̂̔̄͑̂͑̉́̎̌͌̆̾̇͋̂̂́̅̎͊̚̚͘ͅǩ̷̨̧̰̝̪̞͉͎̰̮̙̪̘͈͎̺̞̣͚̯̟̳̼͎̱̟́̐̈́̓͒̃̓̑̈́͗͘͘͘͜͠ͅy̴̧̞̱̬͖̦̓̇̚͘ ̶͇̹͙̥̹̮̤̍̓̇̀͝Ģ̴̨̨̛̺̞͖̹̩͇̼͍͙̺̞̖͎̮͍͈̙̰̪̣̃̒͂͒̇̊̐̈͂̂̔͑̂̐͛̕̕̚͜͠i̵̢̡̢͕̗̲̯̭̬̤͎͕͚̟̮̹̰̠̊͂̉͒͆̍̑̿̂̑̌̎̈́̑́̾̑̈͒͋͒̀̉̓̽̚͠͝r̶̗͓͎̞͓̞̥̅͑͂̈́̽́̈̿̑͊͊͝ͅľ̶̛͕̙̳̞̺͂̏̋̍̂͆̉̌͌̀̃̂̐͑̓͐͊̅̈́̒̂͑̅̚̕̕͜͝͝

** Season 1 Episode 10 **

**Wolf Luck**

 

For the next couple of days, nothing actually happened, since the last laugh incident was taken care of early and they were helping Gwen get over what happened with Kevin. Even though Ben was out for the majority of the events, it seemed to be that the moment Kevin got to her watch his mutant alien like form took into effect way more faster and earlier, causing him to blame Gwen early into their meeting.

She felt guilty as if she truly was the cause for Kevin's unfortunate form. Which in his opinion really wasn't since he was the one who started to coax her into helping him in the first place and absorbing her omnitrix. 

Ben knew Kevin was alright, he had survived a, technically, gladiator arena and the null-void with vilgax after all, that boy had a lot of fight in him to survive that long. He knew that he manages to reform into his original human state.

After, she seemed to calm down a bit, she asked Ben if he knew this was gonna happen, which he only replies with "I was only hoping to at least change it but in the end some things are unavoidable"

She questions more but he stops there, not wanting to give too much away, as now he also found that if he spoke too much about it, his head would start to hurt and fill up with thoughts. He only concluded that it's just another side effect of time travel.

Gwen then asks on how did he deal with people hating him at such a level. He only stayed silent for a bit before smiling and saying that they both need to just roll with it. She tried to ask more but he just wasn't answering those questions anymore.

In a way to cheer both of them up now, Granpa Max brought them both to a museum relating to witchcraft and sorcery. This pleases them both, enough so that it even made Ben forgot about the next person who was visiting as well.

The place obviously felt familiar to Ben but he didn't really noticed it until his eyes laid upon the Archamada Book of Spells is when he remembered that they were going to be attacked soon. After Gwen was finished accidently copying the tour guide due to her own vast knowledge on historical magic. He went up to her

"Gwen, I just remembered, A guy named Hex is going to barge in and try to steal the Archamada Book of Spells" He whispered to his cousin loud enough for their grandfather to hear as well.

Gwen turned to look at him in almost disbelief "You've got to be kidding me right?"

 She should learn to believe him more because they all began floating up onto the ceiling, while the very person Ben warned about came floating in and breaking the glass case where the book was 

Ben just looks at Gwen with that look on his face, that practically just says 'I told you, now go hero'

She growled under her breath and started fidgeting with the omnitrix, trying to find the right alien for the job before they all started to fall.

Finally she turned into the kineceleran and managed to use the tapestry to save everybody by tying the ends to the poles to act as a slide for them. Once everybody was safe, she turned around to face, the man who was stealing the book. 

The scene played out just as expected, he shot fire first then crystals, exactly as he remembers. Grandpa Max decided to intervene by throwing a couple of barrels to Hex's way. Which only seemed to enrage the magician further then he already was before resulting in the magician pushing both Ben and max back with his magic.

This at least gave, Gwen enough time to attack the man, throwing punches his way and knocking off a charm from his necklace, creating a tornado in thee process and smashing the magician into the ground. She stared down on him for a little bit, she doesn't seem to notice the charm right beside them.

Ben and Max walked up to her 

"Nice job, Gwen" He congratulated her as Ben bend down to pick up the charm that has fallen off from Hex.

"Thanks Grandpa, we should probably go now. I actually want to keep things low key" She said already making her way to a different exit before Ben comments

"Believe me when I say this, it's going to get harder and harder in the future" Because he definitely knows for sure that the sudden mass of popularity and fame or infamy, he isn't sure about the difference there is truly an event he believes is unavoidable.

 

 

"Hey, Ben watcha got there?" Gwen asks, watching as her cousin was turning some sort of charm into a necklace.

Ben puts it around his neck "It's one of Hex's charms, he dropped it while you guys were fighting" He said truthfully as he stared onto the charm 

"I'm pretty sure it's called the Charm of Luck. One of the charms of Bezel"

"Woah, Ben I didn't know you were into magic too" Gwen said, a little surprised at her cousin for knowing this.

"I've mostly learned it from you actually, I originally gave this to you when you were complaining about not having as many souvenirs as I did" He replied looking back up to his cousin.

"I wanted to test it out for myself, rather or not if it works for me since it worked for you"

As much help as Ben was with his memories and skill on his own, he didn't feel that much helpful when it comes to fighting. Sure he'll push something in the way for distraction or he'll just tell Gwen when or what will happen but for the most part he started to understand what his cousin had felt back then before she got her powers. Helpless with the urge to save the day like their cousin and the only thing they can do is minor things like that.

And being used to all of the attention before, he also knows that in the back of his mind he also yearns to feel that again too. 

 

 

"You feeling okey there, Ben? You didn't eat much back in the restaurant" Grandpa Max asked as they walked down the street.

Ben, even though he had already felt a little better after going to the museum, didn't actually have much of an appetite either. He was too busy spacing out and thinking about the time travelling situation that he sometimes forgot that food is essential to his well being and health.

He assured his grandfather that he was fine. After they were done with walking, they went back to the truck. It wasn't until Ben got into the RV was when he realized that the events from his original time didn't come through. When Gwen got the charm, a couple of robbers came into the scene. 

This time however, there were no robbers. It was strange, nothing happened. Ben went to sit and he started to think about it. How and why was the situation different this time? Maybe events as small like that was truly insignificant. What Ben didn't realize that his charm was glowing the entire time and somewhere in the distance, the robbers were already in the process of being apprehended.

Everybody stays safe.

The next morning, he decided to test the charm with the basket ball. He shots a couple of times, as expected the charm glows and it went into the hoop twice but unlike last time, whenever Gwen uses it, it seems more complicated and stylized. It always does something like, the ball goes onto the wire and roll before going into the hoop.

This time however, it just a simple toss and he got it in. He was confused, why was his luck different then Gwen's luck? Does the magic in the charm changes based on the user?

Gwen was already awake and is tapping away on her laptop in the RV, probably looking up anything mystical and alien related. Ever since she had the omnitrix she did indeed look up more then just magic nowadays.

He looked towards the construction site that was nearby and noticed that some of the workers was climbing back up from the side, seemingly relieved. Ben once again felt his confusion set in, last time there was an accident during the construction didn't? Why didn't it happen?

He didn't know why but the next thought he had was to look at his charm, which was glowing. He didn't do anything with the ball. He looked back to the workers another close call when some of the material fell onto the truck, at least the driver saw that in time to get out.

Strange indeed, he looked down on his charm once again in time to see the glow of it fade away. Maybe his luck is different then Gwen's.

He should probably get in the RV now. 

 

There was no radio news about the haunted house either but that doesn't mean that Hex didn't somehow find them on his own and chased them into the graveyard after flipping the RV over by that very haunted house. 

The scene played out as expected, Gwen turns into a tetramand, Max with his incredible strength helps by taking out one of the gargoyles.

Ben took out the wolf mask he picked up at a stall, although he preferred if the accented colors were green he guessed blue works too, maybe he can find a way to change it later. He put the mask on and hope for the best that it would be enough to hide his identity from Hex, he might need a change of wardrobe after this event.

After Ben decided that it is truly best that the charms are destroyed. He thought about how differently the charm reacted to him compared to his cousin. Gwen's charm seemed to be more focused on giving her the most luck while his charm focused on giving luck to everybody around him including himself and it seemed much more simpler compared to Gwen's more complicated ones.

While looking out the window during a drive. Ben looked down on his hand.

_If Gwen has the omnnitrix, maybe I'll get the spark instead?_


	8. Chapter 8

<https://nightlynekoart.tumblr.com/post/183210475040/10-to-16-au-ben-age-10-after-before>

 

"Is it just me, or is your hair just getting increasingly curly?" Gwen questioned as she suddenly just up and started toying with Ben's now slightly more fluffy hair. 

Ben's hair was originally flat, a little more spiky but now as the summer drags along the fluffy slightly more curly hair that he developed from the future decided to arrive earlier then expected.

As Gwen continues to mess with his hair a bit, still confused as to why and how his hair suddenly decided that having volume was better then being flat, ben made an uncharacteristically patient sigh which they all learned to become accustom too.

Ben's obviously still had the mind of a 16-year-old thus his maturity follows suit. He doesn't mind what his cousin does most of the time unless it was something unsavory. 

"Probably, I used to have, what Rook describes at least, fluffy hair. I guess it's just coming back to me early" Ben explained, his mind wandering back to his blue alien partner whom never truly left his mind. He missed that blue partner of his dearly, he fears for what the difference would be in the future. Having to start back at square one with him is going to take some getting used to unless the alien is going to be partnered with somebody else and they'll  never meet.

Gwen paused and looked at Ben with the same questioning expression "Rook?"

"Oh uh.." Ben looked outside the window "He was my alien partner in the future. Nuff' said" He doesn't want to talk about the future too much. It hurts his head.

Before Gwen could question anymore, they both spotted a bus filled with elderly people nearly falling off the cliff. They'll probably talk about this another day.

 

Gwen groaned as she fell onto the seat "This hero  thing is starting to get old now" She commented as she watched the elderly people talking to each other about what just happened. Ben only blinked as he focuses his stare on his hand, trying to see if he could summon even the smallest of orbs.

"You should be proud of yourself, Gwen. Those folks would be in a real pickle if it weren't for you" Grandpa Max replied to Gwen as Ben looked up from his palm to his cousin

"I, I know grandpa but sometimes it just gets tiring y'know?" She said

"That's constant hero work for ya" Ben said, leaning down to place his head on the table "Just wait until like 5 years from now. A bunch more things are going to down now"

"I'm starting to worry about my future now" 

"Good it means you care" 

Gwen made a face, Ben wasn't sure what type of expression she was making but he can only make up something between childish frustration and stubbornness for whatever reason. Stubborn for what? He doesn't know himself.

"Anyways, that aside. I'm pretty sure they brought up something about..magic?" Ben said, trying to change the subject and trying to get things back on track with the timeline. 

This made Gwen smile brightly, despite having the omnitrix and being able to turn into aliens she still harbors her love of magic and myth. Even though in this timeline her interest in it seemed considerably decrease, it's still there.

"YEAH! They mentioned something about a magic convention in Las Vegas! Grandpa, can we go?!"

"Of course, why not?" 

 

Gwen was obviously disappointed at what she saw. The convention was just full of cheap trick and jokes. Ben was busy looking around in the fake box of fake spells and tricks, seemingly looking for something.

They both took Granpa Max's words and decided to look through the Expo to seek anything of desired interest. Gwen decided to ask Ben a question as they both were looking through some jewelry by a stand "Hey, Ben?"

"Yeah?" Ben responds as he puts on a bracelet with a very familiar looking charm

"I know it hurts to remember the future and all but, who's Rook?" She asked, slightly crossing a boundary into Ben's little bubble.

Ben frowns at her question. He had thought too much about Rook over the summer already and now that his cousin had caught wind of this because of his stupid mouth , she's going to bother him about it a lot.

"I already told you Gwen" He said as he looked through his pockets to find some money to pay for the bracelet "Rook is a partner of mine from the future. There's have nothing else to say about him" 

In fact, he has a lot to say about his favorite alien partner. From the way he looks to the way he would basically purr for him when they find themselves in a rare lazy day but he doesn't want to make anything of it. Because he painfully knew that even if that did happen, it was all erased now. 

"Yeah but, they way you even say their name seemed to be..I don't know? Different" Gwen asked once again as Ben gave the lady the money to pay for the bracelet.

Ben signed "I don't know what your talking about" He simply said right before Grandpa Max arrives with a smile. 

Before Gwen could say anything else and Grandpa Max just wanting to register the bracelet Ben just bought, a commotion began to bubble outside.

The three family members ran out to see the helicopter going haywire with who appears to be a magician tied to the copter hanging and swinging around, clearly in danger. Both Ben and Max looked Gwen.

She groaned in slight annoyance "Alright, give me a minute" She says as she runs off to turn into an alien. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...
> 
>  
> 
> "WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU PICK A PYRONITE!?"


	9. Chapter 9

"WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU PICK A PYRONITE!?" A masked Ben yelled at his cousin as the blindly ran from the authorities after Gwen accidently set the helicopter on fire. He hung on to his cousin for dear life as she ran

"YOU COULN'T HAVE PICKED THE LEPIDOPTERRAN!?" He yelled once again.

Gwen just groans out loud feeling annoyed with her cousin yelling at her as if she was actually younger then him and confused as to what he was saying "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!?"

"THE BUG ALIEN"

"NO GROSS! DON'T YOU KNOW HOW THEY STINK!?"

"AT LEAST THEY FREAKING FLY _GWENDOLNYN_ !" 

But as much as the two would love to argue some more Gwen's omnitrix began to beep red and before the two knew it she turned back to regular Gwen, causing both of the kids to fall down roughly. 

The both groaned in pain and Ben quickly took his cousin the arm and drag her into a narrow space between a garbage bin and a building, leading to Gwen to whine but was quickly silenced by Ben "shut up will ya? I don't want to give ourselves away"

When Gwen turned into a pyronite, Ben was shocked with the change but also irritated since, even if Gwen helped him save the man in his original timeline, knew that the pyronite was not the ideal choice to use to save a man from an out of control helicopter. He looked at the charm on his wrist to find it glowing and he immediately knew what to do. Grabbing the mask and outfit out.

After Gwen set the helicopter on fire and he can only assumed that it might have exploded, causing more harm then not and being chased by the police. He still bares the outfit and the mask, even with Gwen in her human form, they could still recognize him very quickly.

They waited for quite some time as the authorities seem to finally calm down and the two finally was able to run straight back to the RV. Where upon entering was met with a worried Max 

"Are you kids alright?" Max asked as Ben proceeded to take of the mask and the cloak. He now realizes that such a dark outfit is more suited during the night where he won't be so easily seen, he wonders why the Gwen in his original timeline even considered wearing something like that in the day.

"We're okey grandpa" Gwen assures her grandfather as all three of them looked back outside the window to witness the damage.

The man was fine and unharmed. Ben had saved him while he bared the charm but the helicopter as predicted had exploded and it's already obvious that a few people had been caught in the blast judging simply by the ambulance at the scene. 

Ben narrowed his eyes at the scene, Feeling disappointed at the damaged that had been caused "I think we've done more bad then good today" He commented, crossing his arms together across his chest.

"Well if they hadn't done such a dangerous stunt-"

"If you were pick an alien based off their usefulness rather then how they smell, the situation would have been less destructive" Ben cut her off, his suddenly serious attitude and increasingly intense eyes now turning towards her.

This somehow made Gwen feel offended "Hey! It's wasn't really my fault-"

"Gwen if this was I don't know 6 years from now, I would understand why you would even go for a petrosapien rather then a lepidopteran but at this moment in time, I know for a fact that you purposely avoided that specific alien simply because of how it smells" He said to her harshly, knowing for a fact that she still had more control over the omnitrix now before it technically becomes more of it's own entity in the future where it will often turn her into something else then what she intended.

The tensions between Ben and Gwen started to grow until Grandpa Max decided to intervene and tell both of them to calm down. Which Ben didn't take too well, pointing towards the ambulance, where people, because of their actions, had been hurt and are being potentially hospitalized before storming off towards the back of the van, grabbing a pillow and shut himself in the bathroom to scream his frustrations into the pillow.

Gwen, seemingly having the same idea, went towards the back to grab a pillow to scream in it as well. The two ended up not talking at all for nearly 3 hours with Ben not leaving the bathroom until Grandpa Max decided that maybe taking them both out to see the show that was happening back in the expo.

The two still won't talk though. 

It wasn't until the show, which was becoming an utter failure, began to turn for the worst when the familiar essence of magic became to engulf the area around them. 

Ben's eyes widen at the familiar essence and immediately stood up straight, looking alert, which easily caught the attention of both Gwen and Grandpa Max "Ben? Something wrong?"

Ben looked back at them, feeling confused as to why they didn't feel the presence of Hex in the area already "Didn't you feel it? Hex is here" He whispered to them harshly.

The two only had time to look surprised before Hex appeared on the on the stage and threw the failing magician aside with his magic. With no time did Hex demanded the Keystone and began to reek havoc upon the stage, rekindling the show with panic with it's new burst of destruction and dangers.

Ben turned to Gwen "Gwen!"

She already got the picture, only nodding as she runs off while turning the omnitrix to the alien she wanted to be.

Ben on the other hand grabbed Grandpa Max's hand and ran off towards the RV. Of course as quickly as he can, he tossed aside the hoodie he wore after his first encounter with Hex, leaving himself in only the short sleeved black shirt.

He quickly grabbed his black arm warmer gloves and his mask, putting it on. The green glow from behind the mask holes immediately took effect without his own knowing but Grandpa Max noticed this.

"Ben-" Ben the old plumber was cut off since the fluffy haired boy dashed out the RV as soon as he was able to get away.

When Ben arrived at the stage, he could already see his cousin had turned into a petrosapien fighting Hex, keeping him occupied. If she was already taking care of Hex, he should be aware of Charmcaster-

His charm glowed and he immediately ducked, iron rings flew over his head, crashing into another stand, breaking it into pieces. Ben looked at the damaged stand then at who he expected to have thrown those rings.

To his expectations, it was indeed Charmcaster. Her eyes immediately landed on his arm, where he bares the bracelet.

"The Keystone" She said, narrowing her eyes at him. She pointed her finger to him 

"Give me the Keystone! Now!"

"Let me think about it..." He said, putting a finger under his chin in mock thought "Yeah, no" He said, running off the opposite direction from Charmcaster. 

She growled and summoned some dog like rock monsters "Get em'!" 

Her loyal clay animals didn't hesitate to follow her orders and chased after Ben. 

Ben of course, ran into the maze, trying to lose the creatures it's confusing path. It seemed to have worked since after a few minutes of running blindly into the maze he can see no sign of them.

He stopped for a moment, taking a breather. What were they going to do? What could he change? Originally, he knew that the Keystone will have to be taken to recreate the charms of bezel and knowing what happens, Gwen would eventually destroy them once again.

But if he were to keep the Keystone away from Charmcaster and Hex, he would be able to prevent such a thing to happen, but then again, if he were to keep it, he would be constantly hunted. As long as the charm was still useful to them.

He couldn't change this one, he shouldn't. 

He was about to run again before he was stopped by Charmcaster, who just happened to be right in front of him. He stumbled at the surprise appearance for a second before putting his guards up again.

But she seemed to try assure him of something, her hostility from before not present here anymore. Seemingly to want to assure him that she was on his side.

Good thing that he was wise to her tricks. He, of course, didn't believe her. Kicking her away surprising her as she didn't think he would have the guts to hit her, how wrong she was. He began to run off towards another direction and trying to find his way out of the maze.

Unfortunately for Ben, somebody took him from the wrist and was taken above the ground. He looked up to see Hex taking the keystone away from his bracelet. Hex looked down on Ben, hatefully "Wolf Luck, nice meeting you again" 

He could see that the eyeholes of the mask was still glowing green even without the Keystone within Ben's possession. He smirked "So you unlocked your own powers? How lovely"

Ben felt confused with his words "What are you talking about?!" 

But he didn't get an answer, as he was roughly flung aside by Hex. Right before Ben was about to hit the concrete wall, he felt somebody caught him. He looked up to see Gwen in her petrosapien form.

She was able to bring him down to safety before the omnitrix timed out, leaving her in her human form as Grandpa Max rushed over "Is everybody alright?"

"Yeah" 

"Yeah, but Hex has the Keystone now" Ben said, looking back up at the tower and seeing Hex and Charmcaster floating their way up towards the tower.

"With that Keystone, he would be able to recreate the charms of bezel"

"What!? Why didn't you tell us that sooner?" Gwen exclaimed, already feeling frustrated with this newfound information. 

Ben only rolled his eyes before looking back at Gwen "Does that matter right now? We need to stop him before he gets his hands on those charms and becoming more powerful then before!"

 

"Elevators out, what do we do? My watch hasn't timed back in yet" Gwen stated, the three of them were already outside of the tower. People were panicked and confused, some just seem to be running aimlessly.

"We still have that hover board and there's a window cleaner lift over there" Ben pointed out, remembering where these were by memory. 

This made Gwen smile "Right, I'll take the hoverboard, you and grandpa take that lift!" She said, running inside the van to retrieve the hoverboard, leaving Ben and Grandpa Max to look at each other for a moment before going towards the window cleaner's lift.

 

They were high up, Ben isn't usually one to be afraid of heights but he does at times wonder how he was able to handle all of this to begin with sometimes, maybe it was assurance that the omnitrix will help him or maybe he really was that fearless. 

His train of thought stopped in their tracks just as Grandpa Max stopped and told Ben to get onto his shoulders. He did as he's told and gets on the elder's shoulders, if Max wasn't abnormally strong for his age, he could only wonder how much he should have weighed on his shoulders.

He looked up to see Charmcaster and Hex recreating the charms in the air. He took a breath "HEX!" 

This caught the attention of both magic users, looking back to see Ben right beyond the railing of the tower, appearing to be floating. Ben gave them his best intimidating look he has and with those glowing eyes it was easy to fool them slightly but this didn't seem to apply to Charmcaster so much.

"There's no way he could fly yet with such a weak magical presence! He's probably faking it!" She yelled out, looking at her uncle. Convinced, he used his own magic to lift Ben and his grandfather off the lift, proving Charmcaster's words to be true.

With spite, Hex threw the two down onto the ground before them. Not wanting to waste time on beating two people, he turned back towards the magic before he was suddenly by a hoverboard.

He didn't try to kill them immediately? Odd. Ben stood up and looked up to see Gwen and Hex fighting on the hoverboard. He looked back down to see Charmcaster just looking at the hoverboard fight with wide eyes, he took this opportunity to run towards her.

"HEY! CASTER!" Ben didn't give her enough time to actually react before he gave her a deserved punch in the face, making her stumble back a bit before Ben attempted to pull her bag away from her.

"Hey! Get your grabby hands off of my spells!" She shouted at the 10-year-old as she tries to pull bag back away from him. Pulling back and fourth like a childish tug of war, this caused a few of the explosive rocks to fly out of the mouth. 

Ben's head snapped towards to where the rocks were falling to and it ended up exploding near Grandpa Max, causing him to fly backwards and into a roller-coaster.

Ben let go of her bag "Grandpa!"

The boy started to rush over towards his grandfather, foolishly jumping into the coaster ride to check on him. 

Busy with trying to see if his grandfather was injured in anyway, the coaster suddenly began moving and causing Ben to fell back roughly into the seat of the cart. Grandpa Max managed to shift himself into the seat in the front as well.

Ben looked up to see Charmcaster standing on the railing, picking out those same rock bombs out of her bag and tossing them towards the tracks. Ben's eyes widen behind the mask as the tracks are now destroyed, as the cart fell off the tracks. Ben's first thought was, of course, to fear for his and grandpa's life. 

His second thought? Wildvine saving them but instead of a florauna saving them. He turned to the sound of his cousin screaming as she was now falling down along with them, seeming to have no idea that the omnitrix timed back in when Hex finally pushed her off the board.

That wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to become at least _something_ to save all three of them. Were they all really going to die?

What was he going to do? They weren't supposed to die now! What's supposed to happen? His mind is too panicked to yell to Gwen to use the omnitrix, he didn't have anything on him to stop the cart or Gwen from falling to their deaths.

There's no way Paradox just send him back to his younger days to change to world only to die in the end. This isn't allowed.

He will not allow this to happen but what was he supposed to do? What can I do? There's no way I'm going to let my family die. Not like this.

 

 

 

_"Ben?"_

_What?_

_"Ben? How are you doing that?"_

_"Hey, open your eyes will ya?!"_

Ben's eyes snapped open, his mask was off and they weren't dead. He then realized that there was some green energy around him. It was familiar and powerful, raw mana surrounding him. 

In fact, it was surrounding the entire cart that him and grandpa was occupying, he looked to the side to Gwen within the same green orb as the one he was in. In surprise he raised his arms, a little.

This caused both Gwen and the cart go up, he looked around himself, they were suspended in the air and no longer falling.

_Oh_

He's actually got it. He got the spark! 

He looked down inside the seat to see the mask but it looked different. Instead of the blue accents that previously decorated the mask, they were green now, including the ribbon. He picked it up, he can feel the surge of mana within it and it glowed in his hand.

Ben's train of thought had been cut off by the sounds and the light that was emitting from the top of the tower. He was so caught off guard by the thought of death and the sudden appearance of his newfound powers he nearly forgot about the bigger picture before him.

Not wasting time, he brought his focus to his hands and his mind, trying to move the cart and Gwen back to the top. The only reference he can think of at the moment was older Gwen using magic, so using that he managed to bring them all to the top.

When Ben and Grandpa Max got out of the cart with Gwen not far behind them. They can see that Hex was laying on the ground, unmoving and Charmcaster resuming the ritual herself before them.

Ben put his mask back on, feeling the mana within it course through him and his entire body. He looked down and picked up the staff, the sound of it being moved caused the female magician to look back and seeing the family before her, ready to fight.

She sees Ben holding the staff and immediately laughs "That staff, only works in the hands of a master magician"

"I'm pretty sure whoever told you that was wrong" Ben said, pointing the staff towards her and a beam of light shoot out of it, hitting charmcaster right in her middle. Effectively rendering her unconscious, immediate.

Gwen looked towards her cousin "Okey, how did you know that'll work?"

Before she got an answer, their attention was once again recaptured by the ritual that was still taking place above them. The looked up to see the charms finally being reformed.

Ben didn't think twice when he brought his hand up towards the charms above. The green mana returning and surrounding his hand, strings sprout out of the orb and towards the charm. Each one of them being crushed under his magic.

When it was done, Ben put his hand down and witnessed the magic from Charmcaster and the staff begin to fade into the light. Hex seemed to have finally woke up in time to witness what was happening, he turned to the family, enraged.

"DO YOU KNOW YOU WHAT YOU'VE DONE!?" 

Although seeming to be expressionless with the mask on, underneath the familiar sense of victory and smugness was clear on his face as he smiles for nobody to see.

"Saving the day" He said, his voice confident before Hex began to suffer the same effects as Charmcaster as some of his magic was slowly being sucked by the light as well.

It didn't take too long until it exploded, and the alignment ended. Bringing the sun back and the charm fell down. Bouncing right in front of Ben's feet.

The skies were not grey and dark anymore and blue sky returned as well. Ben dropped the staff and leaned down to pick up the charm. That was most likely to be powerless now.

Ben shifted the mask up, somehow the mask had stuck to him like some sort of invisible string around his head as he set it to rest beside his head. He looked at the charm, contemplating rather or not to maybe destroyed it too or since it was just a normal charm he could change it into a necklace once again.

He looked to his family "Is, everybody alright?" 

"Yeah, thanks to you Ben" Grandpa Max said

"Yeah, I didn't know you could actually use magic"

"It's not actually magic...at least not in your way" Ben replied confusing Gwen a bit

"What?"  

"I got this spark from grandma"

"Excuse me **_WHAT_** " Gwen exclaimed and grandpa Max looked shocked. Ben just blinked 

"What? I thought you already knew"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I forgotten that I wanted to end this episode with Gwen learning that Stinkfly wasn't all that bad to use but it ended up with leaving that unresolved and Ben gaining his abilities early. So in my plans, I think I'm going to resolve that part in the next chapter where it's going to be the final chapter before I got straight to omniverse.
> 
> Thank you for reading this chapter and I hoped that I entertained you!


	10. They Lurk Below (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's back from being dead?

Ever since the entire incident at the expo, Ben has been trying to figure out his newfound powers but whenever he tries to lift up something as small as a can, his mana fizzles out extremely quickly. It was unlike during the time where was able to lift the entire cart, he can't even lift the RV with his mana.

He wonder what went wrong and what actually happened during that incident that had him able to use that much mana to begin with. Was it the adrenaline or was it because everybody was going to die that triggered it?  
  
After a while, he found that Gwen was asking him more questions then not. Mostly about his mana and how it was connected with their grandmother, who she refuses to believe was an alien called an anodite. Grandpa Max certainly didn't do or say anything to appease the girl's questions so he has left it to that. Brilliant. 

Ben was trying to lift a couple of cans with his mana once again, he watched as a green outline appeared on both cans and float up for a few seconds before his mana fizzled out once more. He groaned and lightly slammed his face onto the table. What was he doing wrong? Or were male anodites, which he heard were extremely rare in the first place, weaker then the average female anodites.

As he was in his thinking space, Gwen decided to sit beside him and looked at the two cans he was trying to float above. She turned back to look at her cousin "What do you think happened?" She asked referring to his mana "You could lift like, an entire cart last time"

Ben sighed "I don't know" He said lifting his face off from the table "I guess I just didn't want anybody to die? You made it look so easy when you were first doing it"

"Oh right, you did mentioned I'm the one with all the magic" She said, now looking a little more disappointed, Ben doesn't really blame her, he knew that she does love magic for a long time even before the omnitrix but with what the circumstances before he was sent back in time he had to make the choice of either stripping that away from her in exchange of giving her the omnitrix or letting Gwen everybody else at the moment die.

"Yeah, you did. I wonder what you did to actually practice this kind of magic, I can't even lift two soda cans" He said hopelessly as he once again tries to lift up both cans using his mana. He succeeded but it of course didn't last for too long as he watched the mana fizzles out and the cans fall onto the table and rolling off.

Frustrated, the boy ruffles his own hair, making it more messier then it already should be and harder to comb through later. Gwen raised an eyebrow and took one of the fallen cans in her hand "Maybe I read a book? You obviously don't do that much"

Ben's eyes snapped open, remembering that before, Gwen did manage to get her hands on charmcaster's spell book before she began self teaching herself on how to even use it before! Ben slammed his head back onto the table a little harshly this time, how could he have forgotten the spellbook? In a sense he found that was almost wasn't fair, Gwen, even though Ben got his powers early, basically had a game equivalent of a tutorial guide book while he on the other had probably skipped through the entire section just because he thought he could handle it and ultimately crash and burn because he didn't know what controls did what.

"I'm guessing that there was a book wasn't there?"  
  
"Shut up, Gwen. I'll just figure it out, don't worry about it"

 

 

Ben had completely forgotten that they had to visit that, basically half emerged in sea, resort today. He would have been lying if he didn't feel nervous coming back to this place, he remember nearly drowning after almost failing to get the door open when the omnitrix timed out on his Ripjaws form. Not just that, another reason why he was feeling so nervous now is the fact that he's beginning to not remember certain events like this now, he would either remember last minute or he would be hit with that sense of nostalgia and familiarity that it makes him feel something.

He remembers nearly drowning but he doesn't remember what lead up to that event. He knows it's here but about what exactly gone down has left his mind with their remains. 

Gwen turned to him, somehow sensing his discomfort "Hey, you okay there?"

Ben turned to her, feeling his nervousness dwindling slightly but not truly leaving  "I guess but something's gonna happen here. I mean, I nearly drowned last time"

"Drowned!?" 

Ben didn't pay much mind to Gwen's surprise and continued "And-" He sighed 

"I'm just beginning to just...I'm starting to forget stuff I can't seem to remember what happened here it's all just nostalgia right now" It's scaring him honestly, how much more will he not remember next, how much will he forget?

"Then shouldn't we, I don't know avoid all of this? Just turn around?" Gwen asked turning to look back at the entrance. Ben frowned at this

"I don't think that's how it works Gwen, I don't think this is..well, avoidable" He responded going back to walk into the resort despite his nervousness "Let's just hope that we'll be able to prevent anything bad from happening...whatever it is"

He continue to walk while Gwen catches up with him "What about we tell grandpa this first? I'm sure we'll figure something out-"

Before Gwen could finish her sentence an explosion could be heard from behind them and a dog barking. The both looked back at the random scene of a dog braking at the jet where it's engine was all up in smoke. They can hear the random shouting of people with something about a ghost dog busting in with another dog and wreaking something.

Ben turned back to look at his cousin who clearly jinxed it with her trying to change the past. Gwen opened her mouth to say something but Ben cut her off "Maybe leave the changing time and events thing for me to do Gwen?"

 

 

"Sorry about that Max. I had no idea what happened to that jet" An old man in a read sweater said, walking back towards the family with a young bow in tow.

"It's alright, Donovan. Things happen sometimes" Max replied 

"I just don't understand what just happened, one minute it was fine and then boom! The engine's busted" He said scratching his head at it.

Max shrugged "Well..we are smacked dab in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle" He said, feeling convinced that was the reason why the jet's engine spontaneously combusted on it's own. 

"Don't be silly, Max. I'm sure somebody just messed with the engine" Donovan said, his hand drifting towards the child that was next to him, bringing them to come forward a little more "By the way, this is my grandson, Eddie"

The boy had his arms crossed, his expression clearly not interested. Ben didn't notice it before but he even looked like he was upset about something too. He barely remember this kid either, this was probably the first and last time they ever came in contact ever.

"And these are my grandchildren" His grandfather's words brought Ben back from his thoughts, causing him to blink away from Eddie's face and up towards his grandfather who was introducing them "Gwen and Ben"

While Ben stayed silent, Gwen decided to initiate a greeting with a smile towards the other boy "Hi"

The boy only frowned and turned his head away from the two "Yeah, whatever"

This caused Gwen to be slightly taken aback and looked at her cousin, who only look back at her for a second and blinked away, sliding his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. 

"Well then!" Donovan said gesturing all of them towards the elevator "Everybody ready to take the plunge?"

 

 

Ben didn't pay attention to whatever Donovan had to say about the resort. From his own memory he can vaguely remember about the fact that the place had at least 9 pools and this place was probably destroyed at the end of the day, he wasn't exactly sure.

Ben watched as fish and other sea creatures pass by through the giant panes, seeing a man in a diving suit cleaning the glass. Ben felt something crawl up his spine, something is going happen here. Slowly he backed up away from what technically to him was a giant window looking into the sea and turned to face the others. 

When he did was startled by Eddie who was suddenly right in his face the moment he turned around.

"AH! Eddie, don't scare me like that" Ben said putting a hand over his chest as he calms his heart down from being startled.

"I wasn't trying to" The raven haired boy said, arms still crossed across his chest.

Ben sighed as he finally feels his heart calm down and looked up. Seeing his cousin happily and excitedly asking Donovan questions about the resort while Grandpa Max just stood there, looking content that his grandchildren seems to be enjoying the trip.

Ben looked back at Eddie who was still silent beside him. He started to feel a little awkward standing beside the other boy while the others were the one's socializing.

"So..." Ben started, feeling awkward "Um... where'd you get that pin?"  _Why did I ask that? I already knew where he got it from_

"Helsinki, we got onto my grandpa's jet just to get it" He answered looking at Ben "What about you? Where'd you get those contacts?"

"Contacts?" Ben asked, confused on what Eddie was on about

"Your contact lenses? Surely your eyes aren't really that green, nor do I believe they even glow" Eddie said now referring to Ben's eyes.

Ben has never realized it, neither did Gwen or Grandpa Max sense they thought it was normal, but ever since Ben had finally managed to tap into his new found powers, his eyes changed in hue, from his previous [forest green eyes to what looked like to be absurdly toxic vibrant green that almost looks unreal](https://raythy.tumblr.com/post/184890019143).

"I-I don't wear contacts but are my eyes really that green?" Ben asked, bringing a hand up to his face as he rapidly blinked, as if doing that would make the color go back to it's original forest green. Of course it didn't actually work. 

Eddie was about to respond until the lights suddenly flicker around them. Ben looked around, caught off guard when he suddenly remembered what happens next "Uh, Gwen-" 

But he wasn't fast enough, until the man on the other side of the window toppled over and got his foot caught on the hose, hovering over the fans that had reversed itself. Well ain't that just brilliant.

"He's in danger" Ben said very casually, now beginning to remember the events. Eddie stood beside him staring at what was currently transpiring. His eyes catching sight of the incoming sharks that was coming to the worker's way "And the sharks are a bonus"

Ben turned to look at the kid, slightly disturbed that he wasn't fazed much to the thought of a man potentially dying in front of their very eyes, then again, Ben himself was or rather is a 16 year old in a body of a 10 year old who has experienced more then death himself. He thought to himself that it would be wise to not bring that up and become a hypocrite.

"I can't have an employee become fish food right before the grand opening!" Donovan said, running towards another direction where Ben can only can assume some sort of control panel or power box that controls the fans. 

Ben and Grandpa Max noticed the sounds of Gwen transforming and before the two could see her, the moment they turned around she seemed to have already dived into the pool of water that lead her outside.

Immediately, Ben looked back outside to see Gwen. She was in her Piscciss Volann form and easily saved the man with no difficulty. Ben frowned, she should have less control of the omnitrix by now but for some reason she's still in control. Did the omnitrix really dislike him that much or is it just not as sentient as it used to before?

"What in the H-" He heard Ed say in shock.

Oh right she's in her Piscciss Volann form.

Not a small Galvan. A rather decently big humanoid Piscciss Volann. Right.

After the fans stopped and the man went to go resurface, the Piscciss Volann Gwen swam away in a different direction from them. Where is she going? He doesn't know but he can only hope that she arrives at somewhere that's safe and not too far away.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for being gone for such a long time, I had a huge writers block while writing my stories and decided to go back to drawing for a long while where it escalated to sprite making and commissions that actually did some good. 
> 
> Now however, my brother broke my tablet pen and now I'm waiting for a replacement all the way from China. Again, forgive for neglecting this story! 
> 
> There's only part one of this right now but I like to hear some suggestions to get my rusty head gears going as I write this! 
> 
> Sincerely, FawnTheCurious


End file.
